Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Masco Corp (NYSE:MAS) by 92.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,155,400 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 555,800 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.40% of Masco worth $45,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MAS. Rational Advisors LLC increased its position in Masco by 111.6% in the 2nd quarter. Rational Advisors LLC now owns 658 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Masco by 94.5% in the 2nd quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 706 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Masco in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Masco in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Masco in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. 90.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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In other Masco news, CFO John G. Sznewajs sold 85,473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $3,494,136.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 318,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,016,314.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.17% of the company’s stock.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MAS. Royal Bank of Canada set a $45.00 target price on shares of Masco and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James set a $50.00 target price on shares of Masco and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays set a $45.00 price target on shares of Masco and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Masco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on Masco from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. The company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $45.60.

NYSE:MAS traded down $0.06 on Wednesday, hitting $42.31. The stock had a trading volume of 63,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,446,890. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 39.03. Masco Corp has a 52 week low of $27.03 and a 52 week high of $42.58. The business’s fifty day moving average is $39.99 and its 200 day moving average is $39.01. The company has a market cap of $12.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.41.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The construction company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.07. Masco had a return on equity of 792.80% and a net margin of 8.77%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Masco Corp will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 12th. Investors of record on Friday, July 12th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 11th. Masco’s payout ratio is currently 19.20%.